Study in Venice and Earn FAU Credits

Students in Venice Student in Venice

Why Venice Study Abroad?

The study abroad leaders are two native Venetians: Dr. Ilaria Serra and Dr. Emanuele Pettener. They still have many ties with their hometown and are glad to share their knowledge of the city with the students.

In alternate years, the Program is co-led by a professor from the College of Business, the College of Science, and the College of Design and Social Inquiry which takes advantage of the Architecture Biennale exposition in Venice. This makes our program interdisciplinary and attractive for a varied student population.

Venice is a unique city. Its silence, its colors, its water reflections make it a place that does not belong to the logic of this world, and struggles to keep its fragile identity. Living in such an environment – while studying it and striving to understand its history and its contradictions – is an unforgettable experience. Students reside in the city for six weeks, meeting its inhabitants and visiting its museums and surrounding areas.

Our program is unique. Classes are structured around visits to the city landmarks and participation to many activities such as baking buranei in Burano to crafting traditional masks, from visiting artistic glass factories and wineries to participating in volunteering events with local associations. Lessons are enriched with guest lectures by Venetian artists, actors, writers (sometimes in their own homes), filmmakers and film critics (with classes held at La Fabbrica del Vedere).

Two Fridays are reserved for organized group excursions. Students visit the Venetian Villas along the Brenta Canal, by the ancient boat “Il Burchiello”: the summer residences of the 16th century, such as Villa Gradenigo of Oriago, Villa Widmann, Villa Foscari Malcontenta, among others. A second planned excursion to the Dolomiti mountains includes Cortina, Lagazuoi, Lago di Misurina, and a one-day panoramic walk at a high altitude (2700 meters above sea level), where lunch is provided in a mountain refuge.

Numerous other activities are organized for all participants, including guided tours of St. Mark’s Cathedral, the Ducal Palace, the venetian lagoon, the islands of Torcello, Burano, and Murano, one or two opera night at the La Fenice theater, and much more.